Anna nodded. “He is my cherished ward. Perhaps, after you have rested, your mother might agree to let you play with him. He is very mild-mannered and only bumps his head against you if he favors you; there is not a malicious bone in his body.” She paused. “What is your name?”
“Sophie,” the girl replied, as her mother’s scowl deepened.
“Well, Sophie, it is a pleasure to meet you,” Anna said, regardless, as the child clambered over to Jeremy’s other side, to better see the goat.
If I had not met you, I might still be ensnared in a foolish daydream.But there was no going back from this. She would not be part of whatever amusement Jeremy thought he could have, without consequence, even if it meant denying herself the pleasure that he had all but promised last night.
Sophie stretched down her hand toward Sprightly, the goat hopelessly attempting to jump up and lick her fingers.
“Stop that,” Mrs. Bolt protested. “Ye daenae ken where that creature has been.”
It was then that Anna saw a burn on the little girl’s face, marring one rosy cheek and coated with some kind of salve. Her gaze flicked to Jeremy’s hand, which was still partially wrapped in bandages… and a faint pang of guilt struck her. Whatever had happened to their old home, the little girl had suffered. She, at the very least, deserved Anna’s kindness.
“Might apple juice and cake be acquired?” she asked Mr. Miller.
The butler nodded. “Of course, Your Grace. I will have the cook press some apple juice now, and I know there are fresh scones ready. Some raspberry cakes, too.”
“Please and thank ye,” the little girl said, beaming from ear to ear, apparently unbothered by her still-healing scar.
Anna gave her a more genuine smile. “Enjoy as many as you please. The cook makes thebestcakes and scones.”
“She’ll spoil her dinner,” Mrs. Bolt interjected sternly, reaching out to take the girl from Jeremy’s arms. “Just find us a room quickly and have a bath drawn if it’s nae too much trouble. I need to wash the journey off me and sleep awhile. I cannae keep me eyes open.”
Mr. Miller’s eyes narrowed at the somewhat rude tone, but one encouraging look from Anna, and he dipped his head in a bow. “Of course, Mrs. Bolt. If you would follow me, I will have you situated at once.”
Huffing out a breath as if that were not good enough, Mrs. Bolt set her child on her hip and entered the manor, following the butler.
“I must put Sprightly back in his new palace,” Anna said, finally turning her attention to Jeremy. “Once I am done, I think we ought to have a little talk. Meet me in my study in ten minutes.”
Jeremy arched an eyebrow. “I told ye, lass, I don’t like being ordered about.”
“Nevertheless, youwillmeet me there in ten minutes,” Anna replied, as she stooped to pick Sprightly up and strode off without giving either of the troublesome creatures the opportunity to protest.
CHAPTER 16
Ye should have told her ahead of their arrival.
Jeremy had no doubt that Anna intended to berate him for Beatrice and Sophie ‘invading’ her home, too. He had noticed the familiar glint of anger in her eyes before she scooped up poor Sprightly and took him to the barn, but at least she had been polite to the newcomers.
He could not have borne it if Sophie’s first experience of Stonebridge was a dowager duchess on the warpath, making her unwelcome. Although it would have been entirely his fault if Annahadapproached with fury instead of a polite greeting.
He really should have told her they were coming.
“Now, where is it?” he muttered as he wandered the lower floor of the west wing.
Anna’s study was around here somewhere, but he could not quite recall the room. The longer it took him to find it, the worse the onslaught would be; he was already at least ten minutes late.
“He is doing this on purpose,” he heard her mutter from two doors down, his pace quickening. “Keeping me waiting. Well, I shall show–”
He reached the door just in time, pushing it open with a smirking interjection. “Show me what, Duchess?”
Anna whirled around with a face like thunder, her clenched fists seemingly causing full-body tension that tightened her muscles all the way up her arms, hunched her shoulders slightly, and made the veins on her neck stand out.
Strangely, seeing those light blue branches beneath the translucent pale of her skin reignited that strange urge to bite. Maybe, somewhere in his family line, there had been a vampire or two.
The thought almost made him chuckle, but he held it back. Anna would not appreciate a laugh right now, not when she was staring at him as if she wanted to behead him. Scratch out his eyes, at least.
“Have you been lurking out there, all this time, just waiting for the most annoying moment to burst in?” she snapped, her face tinged with pink. Not the hue of embarrassment or bashfulness, but the somewhat exerted flush of someone who had either been sprinting or was preparing for a fight.
